It originally started as a request for 5 divers to do a double tank dive at the local  dive sites around Bayahibe and ended up as a trip to Catalina Island with 26 people.

Even though the weather wasn’t the greatest (but on the other hand better then then the night before when we had pouring rain from about 6PM till 4 AM the next day), everybody had a good time. The newly weds and 3 more divers did 2 dives, the visibility after the heavy rains wasn’t as good as normally is, but they enjoyed the dives. The snorkelers and the rest of the group spent some time on the beach  while the divers went for the second dive. Good to hear from you guys that everybody had a good time on the trip to Catalina Island.

Congratulations and all the best as a married couple.

More  pictures for the trip to Catalina island

xx

After the dives we went to the island to have a lunch and relax for a while on the beautiful white beach. The high season ended so the island wasn’t crowded at all.

On the way back to Bayahibe Bay the ocean was a bit wavy. We came back at the right time, an hour later we had a quick tropical shower.  The divers usually don’t mind the rain, but it’s better to enjoy the boat ride under sunny sky then in a pouring rain.

The bottom of Atlantic Princess is sitting in 12 m / 40ft and the top of the ship is only 2 m / 6.5ft bellow surface. The visibility is great so the snorkelers can see the whole wreck.  The ship is sitting across the reef, creating few channels and swim throughs, and in just few days after sinking the fish have started moving in.

Since it wasn’t towed  to a deeper location and the Atlantic Princess sunk at the spot where was only prepared for sinking, most of the people expect that the next tropical storm or huricane will move it towards the shore and destroy it. So for only a short period of time tourists have a chance  to see the great new wreck.

This afternoon I went with two friends, one is a scuba instructor as well and the other one is an underwater videographer to have fun under water without any worries about clients. Just for pure fun, and boy I can tell you it was. Playing around like little kids, looking at everything, having a good time. I hope I get the video soon so I can post some clips from it too.

We found couple places that weren’t safe for tourists, so we removed some doors that were still hanging there, tightened some loose ends to make sure nobody gets hurt. Thanks guys for the great time!!!

Well nobody can tell for sure right now, but based on the fact that the guys that lived on the ship, preparing it for sinking, had all their belongings still there when it went under water, including all cloths and money, the answer would be yes.

We went to see the new wreck this morning around 7 AM. And again the guys living on the ship till yesterday followed us on their small boat hoping that we can recover more of their stuff from the wreck. We tried to get as much as we could and they were very happy.

We took our boat, but it was too late and the whole ship was sunk already. Look at the first underwater pictures. We will do an early dive tomorrow morning and see how it sits.

According to the local newspaper, more then hundred planes were rerouted from Mexico to Dominican Republic, most of them to Punta Cana International Airport, some of them to the other airports – La Romana, Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata. Thousands of new tourist will enjoy this great Caribbean Island for a first time and hopefully come back for their next vacation

Well, there was a report saying that one Mexican woman that came to Dominican Republic from Mexico had all the symptoms. BUT according to the doctors from the clinic she was hospitalized at, all the test came back negative … read more here

Dominican Authorities are taking all the necessary precautions to make sure that the flu doesn’t get here. The major international airports installed Thermal cameras to detect travelers with fever. … read full details

Cherubfish (centropyge argi) is beautiful little fish usually found everywhere else in reefs and walls deeper than 90 feet (27m). But here in Bayahibe – southern Caribbean they live in shallow reefs about 15 ft (5m) deep. On our dives we can see them almost on daily bases.
Same like other Angelfish, they are territorial and little aggressive towards other species. Cherubfish favor reef environment with dart in and out of holes in rocks and corals. They swim in pairs or small harem like groups.

Cherubfish is the smallest Angelfish in this area, it grows up to 3 inches (8-9 cm), but mostly between 1.5 to 2.5 inches (4-6 cm). Like other Anglefish they have slim compressed body, small mouth with comb like teeth.

Base of the dorsal fin creates few separate spikes. The body is dark purple-blue with bright blue rim at dorsal, anal and parts of the tail fin. Cherubfish have distinctive yellow to orange face and chest. Their eyes are black with thin blue ring around.

Cherubfish is algae eater – grazer

They are very shy and usually hide when approached by divers.

The name Rock beauty (Holacanthus tricolor) speaks for itself- it is really Rock Beauty. Unfortunately is not spotted on every dive as they are more Atlantic fish then Caribbean. Their habitat is only on few dive spots in our area around Saona Island.

Rock Beauty lives on rocky reefs and coral reefs at the depth up to 330 ft (100 m).
It is very, very territorial fish; it’s active in day time and sleeping in caverns and holes during the nights. They hardly ever swim more then few feet from their shelters. Juvenile Rock Beauty prefers reefs covered with fire corals which provide more protection, or they hide in shells. Juveniles unlike the other Angelfish do not attend cleaning stations.

The adults live in pair long lasting relations, usually larger and small individual, maybe a sexual dimorphism exists in this species. Due to their high visibility the Rock Beauty is not a numerous species.

Rock Beauty is relatively small, reaching a maximum length of 12 inches (35 cm), but on average 5-8 inches (12-20 cm). Typically for the Angelfish the Rock Beauty body shape is slim compressed discus, small mouth with bands of comb-like teeth. Dorsal, anal and the top of the tail fins grow long filaments as the fish ages.

It is easy to distinguish Rock Beauty from other Angelfish species by the black and yellow color. You can describe the coloration either like brilliant yellow fish with black body or more accurate description is that the head and tail are bright yellow, and this yellow color forms a rim around the black body. The lips are black sometimes navy blue.

There is no difference in colors between juveniles and adults except the pattern. The young fish are completely yellow with small black spot and blue border ring below dorsal fin. The black spot gradually spreads through the body and the blue ring completely disappears as the fish reach adult size.

Rock beauty feed primarily on sponges, occasionally on corals, tunicates, and algae.